Biology

Physiology

Salamence are quadrupedal dragon-like Pokémon, who have newly grown large, red wings. Although primarily blue, Salamence possess accentuations of red and gray coloration. The red-colored portions of its body include its aforementioned wings, eyebrows, neck, and the undersides of its tail and limbs. The gray portions include its lower jaw and its belly, the latter of which appears armored in a similar manner to the shell possessed as a Shelgon. Salamence has three spiky extensions splayed from the sides of its face similar to the external gills of some salamanders, hence the name.

Gender differences

None.

Special abilities

Salamence have long, heavy tails which can catapult enemies that enter its territory yards into the air at an instant. Its extremely rough and sturdy body is quite tough and hard to penetrate, especially its almost metallic, red, blade-like wings. Salamence have long necks which allow them to take in deep breaths to store and charge very intense Dragon and Fire attacks.

Behavior

Salamence is an extremely vicious Pokémon. It is also arrogant about its victories by spouting intense flames into the air. This behavior may be explained due to the fact that it faced many hardships to get its wings to grow, and therefore, it is very proud of its achievement.

Habitat

Salamence supposedly lives atop tall mountains, but are extremely rare and are very seldomly seen in the wild.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

When Ruby was a child, he battled a Salamence that attacked him and Sapphire while the two were playing outside. After being defeated by Ruby (and having scarred his forehead with its Dragon Claw in the process), the Salamence went on a rampage and destroyed a lab, freeing Rayquaza, which was in captivity at that time, in the process. This resulted in Norman being banned from the Gym Leader test for five years. This encounter changed both Ruby and Sapphire and their views on Pokémon, as well as themselves. In Ruby's case, he felt he was too strong, and in order to keep himself back, he focused on Pokémon Contests. Sapphire, on the other hand, felt weak after the encounter and decided she had to become stronger, and spent much of her time in the wild honing her battle skills.

Years later, in the Emerald chapter, Dome Ace Tucker is shown to be in possession of another Salamence, with which he defeats Sapphire. While Sapphire acknowledges the man's overwhelming skill, she also adds that such a Pokémon is a hard one to fight against with her phobic old experience many years back.

Salamence came about as a result of a strong, long-held dream of growing wings. It is said that this powerful desire triggered a sudden mutation in this Pokémon's cells, causing it to sprout its magnificent wings.